It seems our tax dollars are plentiful for persistent private ventures and playgrounds, but not available for local service provision and sustaining a quality of life for all citizens.Full post by Brewtown Gumshoe is here.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Man, I Wish I Had Written That
No, seriously, I really, really wish I had written this:
Big Yellow Taxi
As referred to in the previous post, here is the full version of the unofficial theme song of the County Grounds, just for my friends, L.W. and B.A., in three versions.
The original artist, Joni Mitchell:
A cover version done by Sarah McLachlan et alia:
And a newer version by Counting Crows that I like, which unfortunately cannot be embedded, but click here to see it.
The original artist, Joni Mitchell:
A cover version done by Sarah McLachlan et alia:
And a newer version by Counting Crows that I like, which unfortunately cannot be embedded, but click here to see it.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
A Grand Day At The County Grounds
What a gorgeous day it was. Ideal weather brought a lot of people to the County Grounds in the hope of seeing some Monarch butterflies.
While the Monarchs have not arrived en force yet, everyone still enjoyed themselves.
Pictures are up at Milwaukee County First.
I want to offer a special thanks to Barb and Lulu for helping MCF in making this a success.
Also, special thanks to Jay "folkbum" Bullock for providing the musical entertainment.
It was especially grand for me as I got to meet the charming and lovely Izzy and Izzy's Mom.
But I think the best part of the day is when I found out that my dear friends, Jason and Stacie, are to be married next month! Congrats, kids, and you know I'll be there for sure!
Here's a snippet of Jay singing the unofficial song of the County Grounds:
While the Monarchs have not arrived en force yet, everyone still enjoyed themselves.
Pictures are up at Milwaukee County First.
I want to offer a special thanks to Barb and Lulu for helping MCF in making this a success.
Also, special thanks to Jay "folkbum" Bullock for providing the musical entertainment.
It was especially grand for me as I got to meet the charming and lovely Izzy and Izzy's Mom.
But I think the best part of the day is when I found out that my dear friends, Jason and Stacie, are to be married next month! Congrats, kids, and you know I'll be there for sure!
Here's a snippet of Jay singing the unofficial song of the County Grounds:
CRG Member Bashes Walker
I attended Thursday night's public budget hearing session in Franklin.
It was a smaller crowd, but there were a number of speakers. Many of them were union members, mostly housekeeping staff at the mental health complex that are the top targets for lay offs and privatization in the soon to be formally presented proposed budget by Scott Walker.
There also was a fair number of people that utilize the transit system, especially the Freeway Flyers, that were deeply concerned about Walker's recommended budget.
There were also people that spoke up for the parks and a woman from the Hunger Task Force that gave an eloquent talk about the importance of the Farm and Fish Hatchery.
The one thing that left me temporarily dumbfounded was the speech by Orville Seymour, who is infamous for his involvement with Citizens for Responsible Government. (For those unfamiliar with CRG, they are the ones that got Scott Walker elected after their successful recall of Tom Ament. They are also the ones that failed to recall State Sen. Jim Sullivan and twice failed to recall Governor Doyle.)
As one would expect, Seymour advocated for such nonsense as privatizing everything possible and getting rid of what they couldn't. But then came two surprises.
One thing he complained about the road conditions, namely College Avenue and 13th Street. I wonder if he realized that he was echoing Milwaukee County First in his criticism of Walker's neglect of the county's infrastructure.
Then old Orville also complained that the state was not doing their job in mowing the grass in the medians, and said that the county should do it if the state won't. I couldn't believe my ears. This man who is one of the top honchos of CRG first pointed out the results of the years of Walker's neglect to the infrastructure, but then advocated squandering tax payer dollars on something like cutting someone else's grass.
Will wonders never cease?
It was a smaller crowd, but there were a number of speakers. Many of them were union members, mostly housekeeping staff at the mental health complex that are the top targets for lay offs and privatization in the soon to be formally presented proposed budget by Scott Walker.
There also was a fair number of people that utilize the transit system, especially the Freeway Flyers, that were deeply concerned about Walker's recommended budget.
There were also people that spoke up for the parks and a woman from the Hunger Task Force that gave an eloquent talk about the importance of the Farm and Fish Hatchery.
The one thing that left me temporarily dumbfounded was the speech by Orville Seymour, who is infamous for his involvement with Citizens for Responsible Government. (For those unfamiliar with CRG, they are the ones that got Scott Walker elected after their successful recall of Tom Ament. They are also the ones that failed to recall State Sen. Jim Sullivan and twice failed to recall Governor Doyle.)
As one would expect, Seymour advocated for such nonsense as privatizing everything possible and getting rid of what they couldn't. But then came two surprises.
One thing he complained about the road conditions, namely College Avenue and 13th Street. I wonder if he realized that he was echoing Milwaukee County First in his criticism of Walker's neglect of the county's infrastructure.
Then old Orville also complained that the state was not doing their job in mowing the grass in the medians, and said that the county should do it if the state won't. I couldn't believe my ears. This man who is one of the top honchos of CRG first pointed out the results of the years of Walker's neglect to the infrastructure, but then advocated squandering tax payer dollars on something like cutting someone else's grass.
Will wonders never cease?
Friday, September 11, 2009
Thanks For Nothing, JB
Earlier this year, Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen issued a poorly thought out opinion piece on whether open carry in Wisconsin was legal. This was nothing more than a thinly veiled promotion for his re-election as AG, or possibly a run at governor.
Since then, we've been witness to all sorts of nuttiness, most of which was a bunch of people having picnics in rural areas already low in crime to show that nothing bad will happen.
However, as predictable as it was, the nuttiness has now turned to a more ominous direction.
In Racine, there is the story of a man that was apparently in cahoots with his neighbor to see if they could set up the police regarding Van Hollen's opinion:
If this was not a set up, why would he have a recording device in his pocket. It is abnormal enough to want to be a grown man that still likes to dress up like a cowboy, but the recording device makes it very plausible that he had ulterior motives as well.
Unfortunately, I expect that we will continue to see this type of disruptive behavior until someone actually does get hurt, if not killed.
If Van Hollen couldn't see this predictable result of his unnecessary interjection, he is not fit to be top dog catcher, much less top cop or governor.
Since then, we've been witness to all sorts of nuttiness, most of which was a bunch of people having picnics in rural areas already low in crime to show that nothing bad will happen.
However, as predictable as it was, the nuttiness has now turned to a more ominous direction.
In Racine, there is the story of a man that was apparently in cahoots with his neighbor to see if they could set up the police regarding Van Hollen's opinion:
I had also heard on WTMJ 620 AM that Hannan was found with a recording device in his pocket that he was fumbling around with in an effort to turn on."I did nothing to provoke them," Hannan Rock said.
Officers repeatedly asked Hannan Rock to give his name, but he refused, citing his 5th Amendment Right. The officers arrested Hannan Rock on obstruction charges and took him to jail, where he spent nine hours.
Racine Police believe Hannan Rock's neighbor made the call about the raccoon shooting to test officers about the Open Carry Law. Police think the entire situation could have been a set up.
"It kind of makes us wonder if this gentleman was trying to set us up as a police agency and see how we were going to react to the open carry situation," Sgt. Bernie Kupper with the Racine Police Department said.
If this was not a set up, why would he have a recording device in his pocket. It is abnormal enough to want to be a grown man that still likes to dress up like a cowboy, but the recording device makes it very plausible that he had ulterior motives as well.
Unfortunately, I expect that we will continue to see this type of disruptive behavior until someone actually does get hurt, if not killed.
If Van Hollen couldn't see this predictable result of his unnecessary interjection, he is not fit to be top dog catcher, much less top cop or governor.
Perspectives of 9/11
On the morning of 9/11/01, a Tuesday morning, I did like so many other Americans were doing, getting up, eating breakfast and getting ready to go to work.
At that time, I was a foster care worker for Milwaukee County. It was a job that I loved and hated at the same time. The stress was unbelievable, taking on the responsibility of scores of young lives without the needed resources, trying to do the best you could, not just for the children, but out of fear that your name would be in the next day's headlines if you failed in your job. At the same time, I loved it, knowing I was making a difference in people's lives, giving the kids a chance at life they might never have otherwise had.
However, on the morning of that fateful day, I was way less enthusiastic to get to work. It was the last Tuesday that I would ever be a foster care worker. For all I knew, it was that last Tuesday that I'd ever be a social worker. Tommy Thompson and his cohorts in the legislature like Alberta Darling, Margaret Farrow and Scott Walker had already sold us out and privatized the foster care system. That coming Friday, September 14, 2001 was my last day on that job.
Needless to say, I was feeling awfully sorry for myself. I had a week off and then I was to report to the House of Correction. A job I didn't want, and a job I hated every single day. But it was a job, I kept trying to tell myself.
But then as I was putting on my shoes and getting my stuff together, I saw the news. I remember Katie Couric and the others on the Today show talking about the plane hitting the first tower. I called my dad, who was already at work, to tell him that something was going on. As I was talking to him, they showed the second plane hitting.
In shock, I hung up with him and called my wife to tell her what was going on, to reassure myself that she was OK, and to tell her that I love her.
I went to work after that. I don't remember much of what I got done that day, as most of us kept going to the conference room to watch the television set up in there. We saw the buildings fall, first one and then the other. We were quiet in our shock, our fear, and our pain.
In the days, the weeks, and the months to come, as more and more information became available, it put things in perspective for me.
How could I bitch about being forced out of my job and having to choose whether to work at a crappy one I hated, when people were forced to choose how they wanted to die, burning to death or jumping to their deaths.
How could I say I was nervous and even a little scared going to work in a room full of inmates, when I saw firefighters and policemen running into buildings that were about to collapse, hoping to save someone else's life at the cost of their own.
To look at what is happening today furthers that perspective. We have both sides of the political aisle accusing each other of preposterous allegations and participating in childish name-calling. Nazi, communist, fascist, socialist.
Did we learn nothing from that day?
At that time, I was a foster care worker for Milwaukee County. It was a job that I loved and hated at the same time. The stress was unbelievable, taking on the responsibility of scores of young lives without the needed resources, trying to do the best you could, not just for the children, but out of fear that your name would be in the next day's headlines if you failed in your job. At the same time, I loved it, knowing I was making a difference in people's lives, giving the kids a chance at life they might never have otherwise had.
However, on the morning of that fateful day, I was way less enthusiastic to get to work. It was the last Tuesday that I would ever be a foster care worker. For all I knew, it was that last Tuesday that I'd ever be a social worker. Tommy Thompson and his cohorts in the legislature like Alberta Darling, Margaret Farrow and Scott Walker had already sold us out and privatized the foster care system. That coming Friday, September 14, 2001 was my last day on that job.
Needless to say, I was feeling awfully sorry for myself. I had a week off and then I was to report to the House of Correction. A job I didn't want, and a job I hated every single day. But it was a job, I kept trying to tell myself.
But then as I was putting on my shoes and getting my stuff together, I saw the news. I remember Katie Couric and the others on the Today show talking about the plane hitting the first tower. I called my dad, who was already at work, to tell him that something was going on. As I was talking to him, they showed the second plane hitting.
In shock, I hung up with him and called my wife to tell her what was going on, to reassure myself that she was OK, and to tell her that I love her.
I went to work after that. I don't remember much of what I got done that day, as most of us kept going to the conference room to watch the television set up in there. We saw the buildings fall, first one and then the other. We were quiet in our shock, our fear, and our pain.
In the days, the weeks, and the months to come, as more and more information became available, it put things in perspective for me.
How could I bitch about being forced out of my job and having to choose whether to work at a crappy one I hated, when people were forced to choose how they wanted to die, burning to death or jumping to their deaths.
How could I say I was nervous and even a little scared going to work in a room full of inmates, when I saw firefighters and policemen running into buildings that were about to collapse, hoping to save someone else's life at the cost of their own.
To look at what is happening today furthers that perspective. We have both sides of the political aisle accusing each other of preposterous allegations and participating in childish name-calling. Nazi, communist, fascist, socialist.
Did we learn nothing from that day?
Thursday, September 10, 2009
It's All Relative
This was sitting in my email box when I got home tonight. It appears that Mark Neumann's brother, whose company filed for bankruptcy, might be causing Mark's campaign some problems already:
Aren't relatives grand?
I also learned from some birdies that Scott Walker and his brother-in-law might be having an issue soon with county trees getting cut down and being transported to Illinois to be sold for a nice sum of money. I am still trying to confirm that rumor.The truth is that while Mark Neumann was not a share holder in his brother’s company he has a significant financial interest in it.
Records show that from 2001-2007, Mark Neumann and his brother Ken exchanged more than $30 million worth of property. The last major pre-bankruptcy financial transaction between the brothers took place on July 17, 2007 when Ken Neumann sold $2.292 million worth of property to Mark Neumann’s firm.
Finally, according to federal bankruptcy documents, Mark Neumann was listed as a creditor to his brother’s bankrupt company.
Aren't relatives grand?
Ronald Reagan Opposed Open Carry
From off of twitter, I found this:
The controversy about carrying guns in public is not new. In 1967, however, the political alignments on this issue were completely different. Many conservatives (and others) objected when the Black Panthers insisted on exercising this right. In response, Governor Ronald Reagan signed the Mulford Act banning the carrying of guns in public.
Support For Obama's Health Care Plan Jumping In The Polls
This flies in the face of what the conservatives have been trying to claim all night.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Taxation By Corporation
As I had mentioned in my previous post about the Mercury Marine situation, the tax payers in Fond du Lac were going to take a double whammy in the process of keeping the company from moving to Oklahoma:
Zachary Wisniewski at Blogging Blue also noted this sales tax and asked the question:
Again, it is just a sign of Walker's hypocrisy and his continued pattern of putting his own personal and political aspirations before the good of Milwaukee County.
The store owners and business people of FdL are counting on the workers going out and spending freely again. This is not a likely scenario, as that even if the current workers do get to keep their full wages, they are probably going to be too gun shy to make anything but the absolutely necessary ones. The new workers or recently rehired workers will also not be able to do much to support the local economy as they are paying off bills that they accrued during their layoffs, especially for the ones of whom have been laid off for several months. Their ability to dig themselves out will only be hampered by the fact that they also will be collecting 30% less money.Sure enough, in this morning's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is the story that Fond du Lac County will be raising the sales tax a half-cent to pay for the incentives given to Mercury Marine:
Not only will the people of FdL have to deal with the shrunken money flow, but they are going to get hit twice as they lose services and/or pay higher taxes due to the money the city and county will be dishing out to sweeten the deal for MM.
Basically, the sales tax is going to go completely to benefit one corporation.Fond du Lac County would levy an extra half-cent sales tax for each dollar spent on such things as dining out, household goods and clothing as part of a proposed package of incentives being offered to Mercury Marine Inc., officials said Tuesday.
Some of the sales tax proceeds would cover the cost of credits the company would earn for retaining and creating jobs.
The incentives are the first announced publicly in what has become an intense effort to keep the Fond du Lac-based manufacturer - and the thousands of jobs at the plant and those with other area businesses - in Wisconsin.
Up to $50 million will be available in the form of a low-interest, performance-based loan from Fond du Lac County, according to a joint statement issued by the city and county Tuesday.
Zachary Wisniewski at Blogging Blue also noted this sales tax and asked the question:
So here’s a question for my conservative readers: those higher taxes in Fond Du Lac County are definitely a good thing, right?I would take that one step farther: If people are OK with Fond du Lac County raising their sales tax by a half-cent to benefit just one company and maybe save a couple of thousand jobs, why is Scott Walker promising to veto a half-cent sales tax to help scores of companies and save tens of thousands of jobs?
Again, it is just a sign of Walker's hypocrisy and his continued pattern of putting his own personal and political aspirations before the good of Milwaukee County.
Doyle's RTA Proposal: Still Not Good Enough
Another post I wrote tonight at Milwaukee County First.
Go ahead and read it, get upset, and sign our petition. It is time our voices get heard in Madison.
Go ahead and read it, get upset, and sign our petition. It is time our voices get heard in Madison.
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